Category Archives: Society

Media, Muslims, Perth, Political, Society

Shame, thewest.com.au – Shame!

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I acknowledge from the outset that I am no fan of The West Australian newspaper. This rag has peddled blatant pro-conservative propaganda in the guise of an “Editorial” for as long as I can remember. Not to mention their “feature writers” like the big-headed, self-righteous arch-conservative foghorn, Paul Murray (although, one upside of having Murray around is this crack-up of a thread from local blog The Worst Of Perth).

Indeed, the anti-ALP bias of The West Australian was so extreme in the lead-up to the recent WA state election that in a post-victory interview, outgoing Lib Matt Birney was moved to chastise the West journos for carrying on a personal vendetta against ALP ministers who had raised their ire during the Carpenter reign. Birney is not known for handing the ALP any bouquets. Hats off to him for speaking up. It is some measure of the extremity of The West’s bias that he – a political beneficiary of their propaganda – should feel moved to speak out publicly as he did. Continue reading Shame, thewest.com.au – Shame! →

Organic waterwise gardening, Perth, Society

The Waterwise Gardening Revolution

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My old man was an accomplished backyard vege grower. That was back in the days when superphosphate was considered a modern wonder of the world. Back when kids gidgied plentiful cobbler in the Swan River, and the banks were dotted all through the summer evenings with the gloria lamps of family groups prawning – and catching more than they could eat. When chucking a dropnet or two off any number of river jetties would guarantee half a kero tin of wide blue mannas in a couple of hours.

It was difficult at first to associate the use of fertilisers by home gardeners like my old man with the poisoning of the Swan. All we knew about his veges were that they were bloody delicious – his tomatoes beyond compare – and the products of his spare time sweat. And some earthy wisdom that he tried on occasion to impart – profoundly unsuccessfully. My brother and I were uninterested, wilfully so in my case. I lived in reaction to my father for most of his life, and it was only after he was gone that I got to understand the stupidity of my stubbornness and what it had cost me. It’s an understanding that grows with the years, rooted in the soil of missed opportunity and regret. Continue reading The Waterwise Gardening Revolution →

Blogging & Internet, Modern Marketing, Popular Culture, Society

iPhone? iPhooey!

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I understand fanaticism.

As a kid, it was a footy team – my beloved Subiaco. In those days, the WAFL was all-consuming in Perth. The match of the day would draw 25,000+. A grand final 50,000 – these were the days of the outer, where you’d have to stand all day, wedged vertical like pencils in a quiver case because it was too packed to sit down. Subi games didn’t often draw big crowds, though. The Mighty Maroons, as they were known then, customarily languished at, or near, the bottom of the ladder. But my father, brother and I, and perhaps a mate or two as we got older, would religiously attend week after week and barrack ourselves hoarse, and when a win came it was joyous – it would make your week.

It was the losses, though, that were the real measure of supporter character. Year after year, there’d be that game – the long trip out to Bassendean Oval where the Swan Districts supporters occupied their covered home stand on the wing, and ne’er a more one-eyed pack of footy terrorists has scorched God’s earth. Continue reading iPhone? iPhooey! →